Background for 24 Hours of LeMons
It is, of course, a generally accepted rule that automotive racing is inherently expensive. “You have to pay if you want to play.” This is what keeps so many of us from actually persuing our dream.
There is a new phenomenon, however, that takes the edge off the financial impact of auto racing in a significant way. 24 Hours of LeMons has entered the scene (www.24hoursoflemons.com, a wonderful read) and is a briliant concept that challenges competitors to purchase and prepare their racecar for $500 or less, and then proceed to compete in a 24 hour endurance race with a lineup of 4 to 6 drivers.
So, I find myself compelled exploit this race as a rationalization that “It’s the cheapest ‘real racing’ that I’ll ever have the chance to compete in!” What’s more? I’ve conned at least three of my good friends into rationalizing right along with me.
A similar, though much less organized, phenomenon began years ago in a friend’s ”Back 40″ acres in Central Missouri. Cheap cars and 40 acres of pasture truly do make for an unreasonably good time! Over the years, I have honed my skills at obtaining cars suitable only for eminent destruction in a pseudo-competetive automotive event.
In the Back 40, we get the cars cheap (and generally, torn up to the point that they’re no longer safe or practical for road transportation) and then go racing, door-to-door on a dirt “roadcourse.” The course is likely similar to a RallyCross course. The difference is that we don’t have timers and we’re not racing the clock. We run as many cars as we can on the course at one time.
This experience leads me to believe that we can find a car and prep’ it for 24 Hours of LeMons racing. I approach all prospective “beaters” now with a unique perspective! And so…the search is on. Where can I come up with a suitable candidate for a 24 Hours of LeMons contender?